My Reading Running and Recipe spot, plus a Ten of the Best on the occasional weekend.

Friday, 25 September 2015

Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

Sharon Bolton is an accomplished and highly recommended crime thriller author, well-known for her Lacey Flint series. When I saw that Little Black Lies was a standalone novel, I was very eager to read it. Even more appealing was the setting – the Falkland Islands, so interesting. And the plot - a missing child. Unheard of in such a small place where everybody is connected to everybody else. Is this a terrible tragedy or something more sinister? This book was always going to be good.

The writing was excellent. The characters were strong and multi-dimensional. What drew me in hook, line and sinker though, was the fabulous plot. Mysterious, with enough twists and turns to keep my head reeling, my stomach churning and my heart pounding, this storyline grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go.

The tale is told from the points of view of each of the three protagonists, all very different and almost contradictory. I did not know too much about the book before reading it, and this made it all the more enjoyable. The surprises were astonishing, from chapter one for me, because I avoided the blurbs. It is for that reason that this review is purposefully steering clear of telling you too much about what happens. I hate spoilers.

I had such a strong connection to the protagonists. I loved them all. I loved the atmosphere, the suspense and the fact that though I guessed and guessed, there were a number of things I just never saw coming.

I will certainly be reading more from Sharon Bolton. Highly recommended for lovers of psychological, emotional crime thrillers, more focussed on the human drama than the factual solving of the crime or mystery.